Largest US grid issues alert as cold lifts demand to near record

Mark Chediak and Naureen S. Malik, Bloomberg News on Jan 21, 2025

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PJM Interconnection, which operates the largest U.S. grid from Washington, D.C., to Illinois, issued a Level 1 emergency alert for Wednesday as cold weather boosts electricity demand.

The network operator expects energy use to near a record set almost a decade ago as dangerously low temperatures spread across the Eastern U.S., it said. PJM also issued a maximum generation alert, giving it the flexibility to reduce electricity exports to neighboring grids.

The emergency alert is issued when a grid operator foresees conditions where all available resources are committed to meet electricity demand and is concerned about sustaining its required energy reserves. PJM said it didn’t anticipate a need to use demand response measures that require some customers to curtail their use.

The notice comes as an arctic blast that brought record-breaking snowfall to New Orleans and Houston sweeps across the country, disrupting travel and threatening the nation’s energy infrastructure.